Radstadt is a municipality in the Austrian state of Salzburg with 4876 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2020). It is also called the "old town in the mountains" and is known as a winter sports resort.
Lerchen Castle. The building houses part of the
local history museum, it shows the development of the city
City
wall - The settlement of the very conveniently located terrace above
the Ennstal did not begin until late, but became increasingly
important. In the 13th century Finally the entire terrace was
fortified and became the most systematic and regular urban complex
in today's Austria. Under Archbishop Rudolf von Hohenegg, Radstadt
was elevated to a city on July 27, 1289 - by the way, until 2000 the
only place in the mountains with city rights of the Archdiocese of
Salzburg. The city wall, which is considered a masterpiece of its
kind, is still largely preserved in the original. The city entrances
to the west and east, which replaced the city gates at that time,
are pretty much the only structural interventions that have changed
the city wall in the more than 700 years of its existence. Today the
city wall of Radstadt is a listed landmark, which you can walk
around on a leisurely stroll in about 20 minutes.
City towers -
An important era in Radstadt was the Peasants' War of 1525/1526.
5000 farmers and miners gathered here for the last, great, desperate
fight in the German Peasants' War under the leadership of Michl
Gaismair. The city, under its keeper Christoph Graf von Schernberg,
withstood the siege, and the advancing relief army was able to drive
out the besiegers on June 19, 1526. Their leaders were beheaded, and
as atonement the defeated had to strengthen the fortifications and
erect the three round towers. It is still difficult to understand
why only three and not four towers were built. The three towers,
Hexenturm, Teichturm and Kapuzinerturm are partly used again today.
The pond tower was adapted in 1998 as part of the new music and
culture center and is now used as an event location.
Capuchin
Tower. The Capuchin Tower, which houses a museum and whose roof
structure is considered a masterpiece of carpentry, was re-adapted
in 2014. The focus is on the Peasant Wars of 1525/1526, with the
visitor being practically involved in the action by means of
multimedia staging.
Parish Church of the Assumption. The mother
parish of the Salzburg Ennstal was Altenmarkt, which is mentioned as
a parish as early as 1074. Even today, Altenmarkt is the seat of the
deanery. The first church dedicated to St. Virgil was built in
Radstadt in 1314. In 1417, after a fire, the church was rebuilt, so
that a three-aisled basilica was created in the core,
Romanesque-early Gothic, to which a long, high Gothic choir was
added to the east. After the fire of 1616, the church was rebuilt in
a particularly beautiful way under Archbishop Markus Sittikus and
the construction management of Salzburg cathedral builder Santino
Solari and consecrated in 1618, combined with the change of
patronage - to Our Lady of the Assumption. In 1781 the parish church
burned down again and was not rebuilt for a long time. In 1859
Radstadt became its own parish. 1865 was the last damage caused by a
city fire. Afterwards, the three naves were re-romanized and the
choir was reorganized. From 1957 restoration of the church,
adaptation to the post-conciliar liturgical regulations.
Cobblestone tower. Late Gothic light column in the cemetery of the
parish church in Radstadt from the year 1513. In earlier times the
so-called "eternal light" burned inside the tower, which also
protects against wars, storms, diseases and epidemics such as the
plague (hence the wrong opinion of the cobbler tower a plague
column) was attributed. Today one of the few structures that was not
affected by the frequent city fires in Radstadt.
Capuchin Church. The former Capuchin monastery was originally an
old, dilapidated castle, which can be traced back to 1401. The
monastery was built in 1628, incorporating the main walls that were
still standing. This explains the unusual height of the building. In
1634 the Capuchin Church was consecrated in honor of the Immaculate
Conception of Mary. In 1746 the monastery was enlarged. In 1978 the
Capuchin Order left Radstadt and the former monastery now serves
Radstadt as the second Catholic church. Worth seeing: Baroque high
altar and the Capuchin crypt.
Loreto Church. In 1677 Johann
Christoph Ziurletti had the Loreto Church built northwest of the
city. In 1986 and 1987 the Loreto Church was extensively renovated.
Today the Loreto Church is only used for special occasions - the
rear annex is open to visitors!
Schloss/ Castle Mauer.
(Oberbräuslössl) privately owned and not open to the public.
The area around Radstadt was already inhabited in the 4th century BC
at the time of the Celts. Later there was a Roman settlement on the most
important north-south connection between Salzburg (Juvavum) and
Aquileia. The settlement by the Bavarians began in the 7th century. The
name of the place is mentioned in 1074 as Rastat (rest stop, resting
place of the drivers), in 1092 as Radestat and again in 1139 as Rastat.
This settlement eventually gave rise to Altenmarkt and the younger
Radstadt, which had strategic importance as a border fortress, so that
the rights of the older Altenmarkt gradually passed to Radstadt.
The city survey on July 27, 1289 by the Salzburg Archbishop Rudolf von
Hohenegg and the attitude during the peasants' wars in 1525/26 (the
village held 5,000 peasants under the leadership of Michael Gaismair)
brought the city various freedoms, including its own civil guard. In
1527 Radstadt received for his loyalty from Archbishop Lang the great
letter of freedom and the title "Always faithful". As compensation, the
besiegers had to build the three round corner towers for military
technical improvement. Georg Scherer, who died as a Protestant martyr,
was beheaded in Radstadt in 1528.
In the years 1731/32, over 3000
Protestants had to emigrate due to the archbishop's edict of emigration,
many of them to East Prussia.
At the beginning of the 19th
century, Austrian, Bavarian and French occupations alternated until
Salzburg became an independent Austrian crown land in 1849/50.
the Bischofshofen-Selzthal railway line was completed in 1875.
In
the 1920s, the performances of the "Comedy of the Last Judgment",
rediscovered by Matthias Jäger in Filzmoos and adapted by Alois Außerer,
received national attention on the Radstadt open-air stage.
In
1938, the municipalities of Radstadt-Stadt and Radstadt-Land were
merged.
The main pillar of the city is tourism. Radstadt is centrally located in the Ski amadé ski association between other important ski areas, while the in-house ski area at the Kemahdhöhe is of only minor national importance. A large number of accommodation establishments in all categories are available at this resort and bring the city high income.
The largest employer in the production sector was the goods manufacturing sector, which employed sixty percent of the workers, followed by the construction industry with thirty percent. In the service sector, the areas of trade, as well as social and public services each employed thirty percent of the working population. This was followed by accommodation and gastronomy with eighteen and freelance activities with twelve percent (as of 2011).
Of the 2,300 employed people who lived in Radstadt in 2011, half worked in the municipality, the other half commuted out, but mostly stayed in the district. About sixty more people commuted to work in Radstadt.
Railway: Radstadt is located on the Enns Valley Railway with direct
connections to Salzburg and Graz.
Road: The Katschberg road B99 runs
through Radstadt from Bischofshofen to Spittal an der Drau. From here
the Ennstal road B320 branches off in the city to Schladming and Liezen.
The Tauern Autobahn A10 can be reached ten kilometers in the west of the
city.